In April the annual spring fashion show came round again, and the students were once again plunged into the extravagant business of designing and making new clothes. Of course, there’s much more to fashion design than merely being able to draw. Marcia, for example, had an eye for fabric, whereas Helen had a great facility for choosing accessories and Uma excelled at making fancy fake jewelry. David, on the other hand, as the only boy in the faculty, tended to be extreme in his designs. Leather seemed to fascinate him and he often experimented with leaving clothes under a sunray lamp until the material suffered fatigue and the colors started to fade.
On the day of the show itself, people came from afar to watch. Marcia had let her fantasy run wild and had made a long, flowing robe in faint pink with a silk scarf that acted as a frame for the model’s face. Helen had designed an extremely elaborate set of accessories, but with Uma to facilitate the implementation she was able to complete them on time. David, on the other hand, had labored to fabricate a curious patent leather trouser suit. Marcia was concerned about how her design would fare, but she needn’t have worried. As soon as the model stepped onto the catwalk a murmur of admiration rippled through the audience. Helen’s offering was equally well received, though unfortunately the model slipped on a joint in the catwalk and took a rather heavy fall, which wasn’t the poor girl’s fault. David’s design, however, proved problematic. His patent leather trouser suit had been made in such a hurry that he had no time to sew up the seams and had relied, instead, on glue to hold them together. This was fatal. No sooner had the model started up the catwalk than the glue started to fail. She hadn’t gone far when the front of the jacket fell off, then the seat of the trousers fell out, and in no time at all the poor model was standing in front of the audience in her underwear with a face as red as a beetroot. David, however, was thinking on his feet. He hastily snatched up a nightdress, leapt onto the catwalk and handed it to the model. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “I give you the ultimate in high-technology clothing. As soon as you enter your bedroom, it undresses you automatically.” Then, turning to the model, he thanked her profusely and ushered her backstage.